Mouse

ABSTRACT

A mouse according to the present invention, comprises: a casing; a button part disposed on the casing, for generating a click signal by being pressed; and a sensing part fixedly disposed on the casing in the vicinity of the button part in such a fashion as to be slantedly lower than the button part; an amplifying part built in the casing, for amplifying the clock signal generated from the sensing part, up to a predetermined level; a filtering part built in the casing, for regulating the signal amplified by the amplifying part, up to a predetermined level; and a switching part for outputting selectively and one from the signals applied thereto from the button part and the sensing part. Since the mouse operates in a touch-sensor fashion, clicking noise is avoided when in use.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a mouse, and more particularly to acomputer mouse in which the button configuration is improved.

BACKGROUND ART

A mouse is a kind of computer peripheral device, which is adapted tofreely move a cursor by clicking its button. The mouse has pluralbuttons and a wheel selectively mountable therein, which are manipulatedby fingers of a user.

In the conventional mouse, however, if a user uses fingers to click thebuttons for a long time period, his or her bodily areas, especiallyfingers, wrists, arms, shoulders, etc. is fatigued by overstrain, andthus at an worse case may induce diseases.

As a countermeasure against the problem, Korean Patent Laid-OpenPublication No. 2003-87688 discloses a contact clicking type mouse inwhich a click signal is generated when a user's finger is removed from afinger contact portion of the mouse.

This prior art is configured such that a mouse click signal is generatedsimply by detecting whether or not a user touches his or her finger on afinger contact surface or he or she removes the finger from the fingercontact portion. Therefore, a user can advantageously operate the mousewithout laboriously pressing the button.

However, since such a mouse requires a user to make reverse fingeringthat is contrary to a general user's accustomed behavior. That is, sincea click signal is generated when a user detaches the finger from themouse, it disadvantageously takes too long time for a user to adapthimself to manipulation of the mouse.

Moreover, since when in dragging operation a user should keep his fingerin an untouched state from the finger contact portion, the finger getsoverstrained and thus may induce diseases.

Further, in the case where a user moves a cursor by using the mouse,since the finger should be screening a sensor, there is a risk ofmalfunction all the time.

Another prior art, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-35033discloses a touch-type mouse in which a click signal is generated byfinger touch. This has an advantage in that a user can easily adapthimself to manipulation of the mouse, because the mouse generates aclick signal in the same way as the traditional mouse does.

However, since in this mouse a button is constructed only by a touchsensor, a user must concentrate his attention on his finger such that itdoes not unnecessarily touch the sensor, to prevent the malfunctionduring the mouse operation.

Moreover, in the case where the finger cannot directly touch the sensor,as in the case where a user's finger is covered with a kind of bandageto protect the scar on it, a mouse is cannot be operated by the finger.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the conventional mouse, and it isan object of the present invention to provide a mouse of which thebutton mechanism is improved, in order to provide a user withconvenience in use.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, thereis provided a mouse including: a button part for generating a signal byclicking a plurality of buttons; a sensing part fixedly disposed at aposition of a casing where it can be manipulated by a user's finger, andadapted to generate a signal by bodily touching, so that a clickingoperation identical to that of at least one button of the button partcan be performed; an amplifying part for amplifying a clock signalgenerated by the sensing part, up to a predetermined level; a filteringpart for regulating the signal amplified by the amplifying part, up to apredetermined level; a switching part for selectively outputting onefrom the signals applied thereto from the button part and the sensingpart; and a signal processing part for processing the signal appliedthereto from the switching part, and transmitting the processed signalto a computer.

In the above construction, the switching part is constructed, so that,if the sensing part and the button part generate signals simultaneously,it selects any one signal out of the signals from the sensing part andthe button part; or so that, if a signal is inputted from either thebutton part or sensing part, it outputs the inputted signal as a clicksignal. In addition, the switching part may be constructed so that itdoes not respond to the signals simultaneously applied thereto from boththe button part and the sensing part.

In addition, the sensing part is disposed at a front end of the buttonpart along the longitudinal direction, or it is disposed beside thebutton part, in the traversing direction, at a lowered position.

Further, by employing a partitioning protrusion formed at the borderbetween the sensing part and the button part, the unnecessary touchingthe sensing part when in use of a mouse can be avoided.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, a user can conveniently operate themouse by using both a sensor and a button, both of which are disposedsuch that a user can operate them naturally. Therefore, the mouse of thepresent invention provides a user with an efficient operability withoutoverstraining the user's body.

In addition, since a partitioning protrusion is formed between thesensor and the button so as to avoid the unexpected touching between auser's finger and the sensor, a user's unintended mouse clicking can beprevented, thereby giving the user the convenience in use. Additionally,a fact that the sensor is formed at the thumbing position gives the userthe furthermore convenience in use.

Unlike the click-button type mouse, the touch-sensor type mouseaccording to the present invention does not make a clicking noise, andso it is useful to operate at night or at the place requiring a quietand serene state.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 3 are perspective views showing a mouse according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional construction of a mouseaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are circuit diagrams showing the inner construction of amouse according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a waveform of a signal generated from a sensing part; and

FIG. 8 shows a waveform of a signal outputted from a filtering part.

BEST MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are perspective views showing a mouse according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows that a sensing part isformed at the side of a button part. FIG. 2 shows that a sensing part isformed at the front of a button part. FIG. 3 shows that another sensingpart is further formed at the thumb position.

A mouse 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention iscomposed of a casing 19 having a flat bottom surface and a round topsurface such that a user can easily grasp the mouse; a button part 14and a sensing part 11 for generating a click signal when a usermanipulates them with him or her grasping the casing 19 with his or herhand; and an internal circuit part (not shown) for processing thesignals from the button part 14 and the sensing part 11 and outputtingthe processed signal.

In the above construction, the button part 14 includes a left button 141and a right button 143, which generate a click signal by being pressedwith a finger of a user. Since such a construction of the button part 14is already well known, the detailed description will be omitted here.

The sensing part 11 senses signal variations according to the bodilycontact and generates a click signal identical to the signal generatedby the neighboring button part 14. A sensor for sensing the signalvariations in accordance with the bodily contact may include, forexample, a proximate sensor, a resistive temperature sensor, a pressuresensor, a distance measuring sensor, an infrared sensor, a magneticsensor, a touch sensor, etc. It can be understood that the sensors havebeen widely used for a touch pad of a notebook computer. The material ofthe contact surface of the sensing part 11 is preferably made ofnon-metallic materials, which give rise to good tactile sensation, suchas a conductive rubber having resistance component, a conductivesilicone, and the like. However, metallic materials may also be used forthe present invention.

It is preferable that the sensing part 11 is positioned so as to providea user with convenient usage. Therefore, the sensing part 11 should bedisposed at the place where a user can directly touch it with minimizedfingering motion when a user grips the mouse body.

Accordingly, the sensing part 11 is composed of a left and a rightsensing part 111, 113 that are disposed on the casing 19 in such afashion as to be supported by a support member 11 a elongatedly formedin front of or beside the button part 14; and a lateral sensing part 115disposed at the lateral side of the casing 190.

In the above construction, the left and right sensing parts 111, 113 areinstalled beside the left and right buttons 141, 143 as are shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, or in front of the left and right buttons 141, 143 as inFIG. 2. Further, in order to prevent a user's finger from unexpectedlytouching the sensing part during operation and a mouse frommalfunctioning, the sensing surface of the sensing part 11 is preferablyformed to be lower than the button part 14, by curving the relevantportions along the rounded body. Or, a partitioning protrusion 16 may beformed at the border between the sensing surface of the sensing part 11and the button part 14.

As is shown in FIG. 3, the lateral sensing part 115, which generates thesignal identical to the left button part 141, is formed at the lateralside of the casing 19 being thumbed when a user grasps the mouse body.In order to prevent the thumb from unnecessarily touching the lateralsensing part 114 during operation, it is formed in a somewhat higherposition than the typical thumbing position when a user grips the mousebody.

Meanwhile, between the left and right buttons 141, 143 may be provided awheel 191.

Like the above, since the sensing part 11 is disposed so as to adjointhe button part 14, a user can operate the mouse just by either pressingthe button part 14 or touching the sensing part 11 where there is hisfinger naturally. In addition, since either the partitioning protrusion16 is formed between the sensing part 11 and the button part 14 or thesensing part 11 is formed to be lower than the button part 14, theunnecessary or unintended touching of the sensing part 11 can beavoided.

Now, the operation of the mouse such constructed as above will bedescribed more in detail, with reference to a construction of a circuitpart.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a construction of a circuit part ofthe mouse according to the present invention. The circuit part includesthe sensing part 11, an amplifying part 12, a filtering part 13, thebutton part 14, a switching part 15, and a signal processing part 17.

In the circuit part, the respective click signals generated from thesensing part 11 or the button part 14 is selectively delivered to acomputer by the operation of the switching part 15 and the signalprocessing part 17.

The amplifying part 12 amplifies the signal, which is generated from thesensing part 11 by fingering, up to a regular level. An OP-amp may bepreferably used for the amplifying part 12.

The filtering part 13 regulates the signal amplified by the amplifyingpart 12 up to a given level. For example, it may output a signal as highstate of 5 volts in response to the input signal. A transistor, a diode,or thee like may be preferably used for the filtering part 13.

The switching part 15 selects one signal out of the signals from thebutton part 14 and the sensing part 11 so as to provide the selectedsignal to the signal processing part 17. Preferably, a flip-flop logiccircuit is used for, but not limited to, the switching part 15.

The signal processing part 17 processes the click signal applied theretofrom the switching part 15, and transmits the processed signal to acomputer. Since the construction of the signal processing part 17 iswell known, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The operation of the circuit part constructed as above will be discussedwith regard to the circuit diagrams.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are circuit diagrams showing the circuit diagrams of themouse according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7exemplary shows a waveform of a signal generated from the sensing part;and FIG. 8 exemplary shows a waveform of a signal outputted from thefiltering part.

With reference to the drawings, a sensor S is connected to one inputport of an OP-amp A, and a capacitor C1 is connected therebetween inparallel. The other input port of the OP-amp A is biased by a referencevoltage Vcc. Therefore, if the capacitance of the capacitor C1, andtherefore the voltage across it, is varied according to a finger touch,the voltage variation is compared to the reference voltage, andaccordingly the signal higher than the reference voltage appears at theoutput port of the OP-amp A (See FIG. 7). In FIG. 7, the hashed portionsrefer to the signal components sensed by the OP-amp A.

Also, the output port of the OP-amp A is connected to the base of atransistor Tr. The emitter of the transistor Tr is biased by thereference voltage Vcc, and a load resistor R3 is connected to an outputport of the collector of the transistor, thereby determining the signallevel outputted from the transistor Tr. FIG. 8 shows the waveform of theoutput signal through the transistor Tr from the signal detected at theOP-amp A. That is, the signal inputted from the sensor S passes throughthe transistor Tr, and is outputted as a regular leveled signal, forexample a high state of +5 volts.

The collector of the transistor Tr is connected to one input port of aflip-flop logic operator L, such as an RS-FFIG.

In the mean time, to the other input port of the logic operator L isconnected a push button B, and a capacitor C2 is connected therebetweenin parallel. According to the variance in the capacitance of thecapacitor C3, a click signal is generated and provided to the logicoperator L.

Accordingly, the logic operator L processes the input signal as shown inTable 1 below, and provides the processed signal to the signalprocessing part 17. TABLE 1 Input Output R S O1 O2 0 0 Remains theRemains the previous value previous value 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 — —

The logic operator L operates the signal applied thereto from either thesensor S or the push button B, and outputs the resulting value as either‘1’ or ‘0’ to the signal processing part 17 through its output terminalsO1, O2. On the other hand, the logic operator L does not respond to theclick signals simultaneously applied thereto from both the sensor S andthe push button B.

Meanwhile, the signal processing part 17 adds the aforementioned ‘1’ and‘0’ signals applied thereto from the logic operator L, and then deliversthe added click signal to a computer.

Therefore, since the mouse of this embodiment operates selectively withregard to the input signals from the sensor S and the button B, thestable signal processing becomes possible without any malfunction.

Further, since a user can operate the mouse with either the button orthe sensor free of concerning about the malfunctioning, the usabilityand the work efficiency can be increased.

In the mean time, the construction of FIG. 6 is generally identical tothat of FIG. 5, but the circuit of FIG. 6 uses, instead of the logicoperator L, a switch S/W for selecting one click signal out of thesignals from the push button B and the sensor S. Therefore, the mouse ofthis embodiment is constructed such that either the button or the sensoroperates only.

Although the above embodiment shows that the sensing part is disposedboth in the vicinity of the left and right buttons and at the placewhere the thumb is situated, it may be selectively disposed either inthe vicinity of the left button or where the thumb is situated, or atany place in the vicinity of the left and right buttons or where thethumb is situated.

While the present invention has been described with reference to theparticular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by theembodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodimentswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A mouse comprising: a button part for generating a signal by clickinga plurality of buttons; a sensing part fixedly disposed at a position ofa casing where it can be manipulated by a user's finger, and adapted togenerate a signal by bodily touching, so that a clicking operationidentical to that of at least one button of the button part can beperformed; an amplifying part for amplifying a clock signal generated bythe sensing part, up to a predetermined level; a filtering part forregulating the signal amplified by the amplifying part, up to apredetermined level; a switching part for selectively outputting onefrom the signals applied thereto from the button part and the sensingpart; and a signal processing part for processing the signal appliedthereto from the switching part, and transmitting the processed signalto a computer.
 2. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the switchingpart does not respond to the signals simultaneously applied thereto fromboth the button part and the sensing part.
 3. The mouse according toclaim 1, wherein the sensing part is disposed at a front end of thebutton part along the longitudinal direction.
 4. The mouse according toclaim 1, wherein the sensing part is disposed beside the button part inthe traversing direction.
 5. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein asensing part corresponding to a left button of a mouse, is disposedeither in the vicinity of the left button of the mouse or at the placewhere a thumb is situated, or both.
 6. The mouse according to claim 5,wherein a sensing part manipulated by a thumb is formed in a higherposition than a typical thumbing position.
 7. The mouse according toclaim 1, wherein a longitudinal partitioning protrusion is furtherformed at the border between the sensing part and the button part. 8.The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the sensing part includes anyone selected from the group consisting of a proximate sensor, aresistive temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a distance measuringsensor, an infrared sensor, a magnetic sensor, and a touch sensor, forsensing the bodily touching.
 9. A mouse comprising: a casing having adrive circuit built therein; a button disposed on the casing, forgenerating a click signal by being pressed; and a support memberelongatedly formed on the casing along the button part, for parallellysupporting the sensing part with regard to the button part, wherein thedrive circuit comprises: a sensor for sensing a click signal accordingto a variation in capacitance of a first capacitor connected thereto inparallel; an OP-amp connected to the sensor, for amplifying the clicksignal applied thereto from the sensor up to a predetermined level,according to a magnitude of a variable resistor connected to the otherinput port of the OP-amp; a transistor connected to an output port ofthe OP-amp, for regulating the click signal applied thereto from theOP-amp up to a predetermined level; a button for generating a clicksignal by varying capacitance of a second capacitor connected therewithin parallel; and a logic operator connected to the transistor and thebutton, for processing in an RS flip-flop scheme the click signalapplied thereto from the transistor and the button.
 10. The mouseaccording to claim 3, wherein a longitudinal partitioning protrusion isfurther formed at the border between the sensing part and the buttonpart.
 11. The mouse according to claim 4, wherein a longitudinalpartitioning protrusion is further formed at the border between thesensing part and the button part.
 12. The mouse according to claim 5,wherein a longitudinal partitioning protrusion is further formed at theborder between the sensing part and the button part.